


Buddy and Vespa and Peter Nureyev

by magznus



Series: TPP [14]
Category: The Penumbra Podcast
Genre: Canon Compliant, Hugs, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Canon, Pre-Canon, soft moments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-07 01:55:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,303
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26209042
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/magznus/pseuds/magznus
Summary: Peter Nureyev really just needs a hug, and he has for like 20 years. It's up to Buddy to give him one.
Relationships: Buddy Aurinko & Peter Nureyev, Buddy Aurinko/Vespa Ilkay, Vespa Ilkay & Peter Nureyev
Series: TPP [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1639732
Comments: 1
Kudos: 30





	Buddy and Vespa and Peter Nureyev

Any good thief new of Mag, though only a few ever got the so-called privilege of working with him. In her younger years of thieving Buddy had done a few jobs alongside him, had even looked up to him once upon a time. So when he had invited her to visit him before what he called the greatest heist of the century she found it difficult to say no.  
She arrived on Brahma along with her girlfriend of only a few months Vespa Ilka, to find a swarm of police surrounding a young man on the street. He looked to be holding a bag of groceries and Buddy assumed they were stolen.  
“Assholes, he didn’t even do anything wrong.” Someone spoke up from behind Buddy.  
She turned around to find a young man standing just out of sight of the police. He looked to be about 16, wearing what looked like the latest Marshan fashion but Buddy could tell it was all cheaply made rip-offs. He was glaring at the scene in from of them, arms crossed like he was holding himself back from intervening.  
“Does this happen often?” Buddy looked back to where the man was now being arrested.  
“Five or six times an hour.” He sighed, “Are you Buddy Aurinko?”  
“That would be me, and you are?”  
“Peter, Mag sent me to pick you up. Is she with you?”  
Buddy smiled at Vespa, “She is, this is my girlfriend Vespa, I told Mag she was coming with me.”  
“Okay, well we should get going.” With one last look at the police, Peter sighed and turned around, nodding his head for them to follow.  
***  
Mag had invited a strange handful of thieves from the solar planets and beyond. Buddy recognized Jet Sikuliaq in a corner talking to a tall woman, and Brock Engstrom who was bragging to anyone who would listen about his latest heist.  
“Keep close to me Vespa darling, we may all know each other but most of these men are just douchebags who are better avoided.”  
“Thank you all for coming!” Mag was standing next to a large table. “I am so glad you could all make it. Peter! Come over here will you.”  
Mag waved Peter over, the boy seemed uncomfortable to have so much attention on him as he shuffled to the front of the room. Mag clapped a hand on Peter’s shoulder, it looked to be a way to reassure him. But Buddy got a feeling of possessiveness from the movement. It sent a sickening chill through her.  
“Peter is my wonderful prodigy! I know he is going to do great things!”  
“You didn’t invite me all the way out here just to show off some kid, did you Mag?” Engstrom rolled his eyes.  
“Of course not, but let me be proud of my boy for a moment! I do have actual news to share with all of you, about Pete and I’s upcoming heist on New Kinshasa!”  
***  
Ten days later Mag was dead and Peter Nureyev was gone. Buddy had been sitting watching the news when it happened. Mag had told them to be keeping an eye out, but she hadn’t expected this. Vespa had pointed out that the kid couldn’t have gotten far, and so began their search.  
Scanning video recordings of the heist, watching the news, and keeping up with any police reports the mentioned Peter Nureyev. But he was good at hiding and it became quickly evident that he didn’t want to be found. So Buddy let it go as best she could, but she couldn’t help perking up whenever she heard his name or saw someone resembling the boy she had met.  
It wasn’t until years later when she was putting together her perfect crime family, that Buddy found him. Living as Peter Ransom on one of Venus’ moons. He hadn’t worked in months and was hardly recognizable, but Buddy knew it was him.  
He made getting ahold of him difficult, but Buddy had never been one to give up and she had managed to claim him for her small family. Even though they had met before, he had been insistent on using the name Peter Ransom. Buddy let him keep up his act, there wasn’t any harm in it and they had all used an alias at one point or another.  
***  
“Welcome aboard darling, sadly it’s only the three of us for now” Buddy gestured to her and Vespa “Jet is on his way to collect the other two members of our crew but they won’t arrive for another day or so.”  
“I can’t wait to meet them,” Peter smiled at her, “And it’s wonderful meeting both of you, I’m sure we will get along wonderfully.”  
“Yes, I think we will! Now, Vespa and I are going to start on dinner, why don’t you go move into your room.”  
“Sounds like a wonderful idea”  
Buddy watched as Peter picked up his luggage and walked towards the bedrooms. With a sigh, she followed Vespa into the kitchen.  
“You think the kid forgot about us?” Vespa asked.  
“No, I don’t think so” Buddy smiled “Did you see his face when he first saw you? Or when I mentioned Jet? No, he remembers us, though I think he’s hoping we don’t remember him.”  
“Who wouldn’t, last time we saw him he was with Mag” Vespa pulled a face “No one would want people to remember that.”  
Buddy laughed. “God what an ass, I always had a bad feeling about him.”  
“Put that poor kid through it too.”  
“Mhm, it’s going to take him some time to get comfterble working around others. But we’ll get there some day.”  
***  
They had finally mananged to get off of the planet they had been stranded on. The carte blanch was once again flying through space on it’s way to find the cure mother prime. Most everyone else was still recovering from their crash and so the ship was silent. Buddy was sitting in her office mapping out their final heist, going through the floor plans was always calming for her. Vespa had joined her and was reading a book in the large chair they both loved to loung in.  
A soft knock on the door pulled Buddy out of her work.  
“Come in”  
The door opened slowly, on the other side was Peter Nureyev. He was holding a crutch in one hand and his comms in the other. He looked tired and small in the doorway, his eyes flittering around the room nervously.  
“What can I help you with darling?” Buddy set down her papers.  
“Well, um, Captain I wanted to show you something. There’s something you need to know.”  
“Why don’t you sit down Pete, make yourself comfortable.”  
He hobbled over to the chair in front of her desk, lowering himself carefully and setting his comms down in between them. His hands figited with the edge of the desk, only glancing up to look at Buddy for a few moments before his eyes fall back down.  
“Anything on your mind? I’m always happy to just chat darling.”  
“Oh? Well um, I’ve gotten everything prepared for the final heist. My alias is without flaw.”  
“Really? I’m glad. We do still have some time before we are going to be ready, so you’ll have plenty of time to fiddle with it all you like.”  
“Yes, I convinced Juno to go over the details with me.”  
“That’s good, I’ll have to go over his alias for him at some point, heaven knows he’s terrible at it.”  
“Ha! Juno does do his best work under pressure.” Peter actually smiled, and Buddy considered it a success.  
“You seem much more awake than you did last night Pete, you were practically falling asleep during Rita’s stream.”  
“It’s been a...difficult few weeks Captain. But I got a full cup of coffee thismorning.”  
“Coffee? I would think that a full nights sleep would be the best cure for the last few weeks.”  
Peter shrugged “Oh I havn;t found sleep to be the easiest. Coffee is really fine, works wonders.”  
Vespa looked up from her book “That’ll kill you Ransom.”  
“Oh I don’t think It will kill me,”  
“I’m your doctor, and I’m tellin you it will kill you.”  
“I agree that that much coffee is not the best idea for you darling, I know Jet has a wonderful tea you could try to help you get some better sleep.” Buddy tried to smile reasuringly.  
“I wouldn’t want to take from Jet, I don’t know when he could get more and-”  
“I can check in with him for you if that would make you feel better Pete. I just don’t want you getting hurt with too much caffeine and too little sleep darling.”  
Peter nodded slowly in agreement. Buddy could tell that he was feeling more comfortable than when he had first entered the office. She smiled at him, making sure that all of her papers and plans were out of the way to give him her full attention.  
“Pete, I’m sure you had something you wanted to talk about when you came in here? I do love talking to you I just want to make sure I’m not glancing over something important.”  
Fear flashed across Peter’s face before he seemed to school himself and smiled at her. “Oh it was nothing Captain, really. Nothing to stress over, infact I should really be going.” He moved to stand up, suporting himself on the side of the desk.  
“Sit down Peter.” Buddy sighed fondly. “You wanted to talk about something, I want to hear about it.”  
His eyes flitted back and forth from Buddy and Vespa, both watching him not unkindly.  
“There was something...But it’s really not that big of a deal. And there’s no reason for me to keep taking up your time.”  
Vespa sighed “just spit it out Ransom.”  
He shrunk down into his chair. “That’s it, what I wanted to talk to you about. Peter Ransom, is...not my name. I mean I’m sure you knew That, but that’s not really the important part. My name, it’s something I don’t tell anyone. I’ve kept it hidden for years, but I thought you should know. My name, my real name. Is Peter Nureyev.”  
Buddy watched him carefully for a moment. Peter was refusing to look at her, staring down at his own hands as they fidgeted almost aggressively. His breathing had picked up and Buddy smiled sadly as she noticed.  
She looked over to Vespa for suport as she stood up, she only shrugged in response. Buddy sighed and walked around the desk so that she could stand next to him.  
“Peter, darling look at me.” She smiled at him. “Now I’m not sure if you’ve forgotten or if you belive we have forgotten. But Vespa and I have known you for quite some time, of course you were what 16 when we first met you? But I do still remember you.”  
“I’m, not sure what to say.” Peter had looked up at her and his face was now slack in shock. “I didn’t think you remembered, I was just a dumb kid sent to pick you up from the airport.”  
Vespa laughed “Yeah a dumb kid who managed to tople an entire governemnt like a week later.” She gestured to Buddy “She’s been trying to find you for years. After that stunt you disappeared, we tried catching up but if Mag taught you one thing it was not getting caught.”  
“I didn’t know anyone was looking for me, beside the Brahman government. I didn’t even think that some one wanted to find me to…”  
“To protect you?” Buddy smiled “Vespa’s right I would rather we found you 20 years ago, before you hade to spend most of your life alone. But late is better than never, I honestly thought you may have forgotten about us.”  
“Took you long enough to get the guts to talk to us kid.” Vespa rolled her eyes. “Jet didn’t think it was ever gonna happen.”  
“Oh, well I-”  
“Vespa stop teasing him. We knew you would come around, and I’m sure you’ve already told Juno. Really I think Rita is the only one who doesn’t know.”  
Peter sighed “No, no she knows. Best hacker in the galaxy of course she knows.”  
“I’m sorry, you deserved to tell her on your own time darling.”  
“Thank you, she didn’t mean to figure it out. But there’s aparently nothing you can hide from her.” He chuckled under his breathe, and to Buddy it almost sounded bitter, almost.  
“Well, though unfortunately, everyone in our family now knows. It’s up to you Pete how you wanna handle this, if you want to continue as Peter Ransom we will suport you fully. But I would be more than happy to have Peter Nureyev as a member of this family.”  
“Look at her,” Vespa snapped “You’re turing her soft!”  
Peter looked at her in shock, “I didn’t mean-”  
“Is that such a bad thing?” Buddy laughed. “Come here Pete.”  
With only a small struggle to not hurt him, Buddy halled peter onto his feet. He stood in shock as she pulled him into a hug. Her arms wrapped tightly around his shoulders and he had to bend down slightly so that she could. Without both legs working well he had to lean his weight into Buddy, trusting her to hold him up.  
It was a nice hug, comforting and warm. It was the first time someone other than Juno had hugged him in months. And the first time someone he trusted touched him so kindly as far back as he could remember. Peter Nureyev let himself sink fully into the hug, accepting comfort in a way he had never recived it before.


End file.
